Uddhav hits out

Mumbai: Hitting out at NCP chief Sharad Pawar for contesting the upcoming Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) elections, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has said that the incumbent president has done little for the game in Mumbai for a long time.

"(Sachin) Tendulkar has retired. (Sunil) Gavaskar has retired, but the president has been batting for a long time, his score is zero," he said.

Zito no more

Sao Paulo: Central defender Zito, who won two World Cups with Brazil, has died aged 82, the Brazilian Football Confederation said on Monday. He worked for Santos after he retired as a player and was a key figure in developing young players at the club, including Neymar. "I have no words to describe that guy, I simply thank him for all he did for me, for having believed in me and helped me at the start of my career," Barcelona striker Neymar wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of the two together.

Goals galore

Tallinn: An incredible 70 goals were scored in three Estonian Cup first- round matches including a truly astonishing 36-0 victory for FC Infonet over Virtsu Jalgpalliklubi.

Top-flight Infonet, based in the capital Tallinn, led non-league Virtsu 13-0 at halftime and netted 23 goals after the interval. Defender Trevor Elhi bagged 10 goals and 11 different players got on the scoresheet. The result was identical to the highest score in British soccer history when Arbroath overwhelmed Bon Accord 36-0 in a Scottish Cup game in 1885.

Ugo ban

Winnipeg: Nigeria defender Ugo Njoku has been banned for three games for lashing out at Australia's Samantha Kerr with her elbow during her side's 2-0 defeat in their World Cup Group D match in Winnipeg. The offence by Njoku, who came on as a 52nd-minute substitute, went unpunished during the game but Fifa's disciplinary committee later examined the footage and handed the ban.

QPR move

London: Relegated Queens Park Rangers have appointed Malaysian businessman Ruben Gnanalingam as co-chairman alongside owner Tony Fernandes. Gnanalingam joins Fernandes, chief executive Lee Hoos and director of football Les Ferdinand in the Championship club's senior management team. Rangers finished bottom of the Premier League last season.

Sally ruled out

Sydney: Olympic 100 metres hurdles champion Sally Pearson has been ruled out of this year's World Championships after shattering her left arm in a "traumatic" fall at the Rome Diamond League meeting earlier this month. The 28-year-old Australian had surgery on the injury in Italy but will require another operation on Tuesday.

India lose

Antwerp: The Indian women's hockey team lost 0-2 to Japan in their first practice match ahead of the Hockey World League semi-final, here, on Monday. India will play their second practice match against Italy on Tuesday.

Agencies